On a lighter note, in response to this thread and Sao’s opening post I did my own bit of Internet research. The following is an extract from Wikipedia and I wonder whether it might relate to one of dear Bill’s ancestors:
William Painter (November 20, 1838 – July 15, 1906) was an Irish mechanical engineer, inventor and the founder of Crown Holdings, Inc., a Fortune 500 company. He most notably invented the crown cork bottle cap and bottle opener.